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Summary
- How I Learned to Fly is a moving coming-of-age story that explores the experiences of two African American teenage boys who are abandoned by their parents.
- Writer and director Simon Steuri drew inspiration from his own childhood experiences of isolation and fear, aiming to tell a child’s story that goes beyond his own struggles.
- The film delves into wider issues of race and class, highlighting the struggles faced by those who fall outside the mainstream and the power of finding beauty and kindness in unexpected places.
“There are certain moments in life where you’ve got to speak up.” As an artist, that time is now for writer and director Simon Steuri. Steuri’s feature film debut is a moving coming-of-age story titled How I Learned to Fly, and the gripping tale stars Marcus Scribner, Lonnie Chavis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Method Man, among others. Check out the trailer for How I Learned to Fly below:
The synopsis for How I Learned to Fly reads as follows:
Where your thought goes, your energy flows. Two African American teenage boys are suddenly and mysteriously abandoned by their parents. The two have to learn how to survive on their own. From this desertion, comes an experience of beauty, meaning and enduring love.
How I Learned to Fly might be Steuri’s feature film debut, but the writer/director got started in the entertainment business at the age of 18 as a DJ. Born in Switzerland, Steuri studied film at the University of Arts in Zürich. Steuri discussed the inspiration behind How I Learned to Fly’s poignant story in a press release promoting the upcoming film. Steuri said:
“The journey of this film started in my childhood in the sparsely populated back country of Switzerland. In the ’80s, they didn’t have the medical terminology to describe a child like me: highly gifted yet social withdrawn, unable to communicate with others… inspired by light and color and yet deathly afraid of people. The isolation and fear of those years has formed me into the man that I am. I wanted to tell that child’s story.”
How I Learned to Fly Takes Flight Soon
Two brothers must learn to trust in their love for one another to move forward in life after their parents abandon them in the coming-of-age drama How I Learned to Fly. The older of the two boys is portrayed by Marcus Scribner (Black-ish, Grown-ish, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), while the youngest sibling is taken on by Lonnie Chavis (This Is Us, White Famous, Supergirl). Steuri discussed the way he found just the right actors, particularly Chavis, to bring his coming-of-age story to life. Steuri said in the same press release:
“During the casting process of this film, I met a young actor named Lonnie Chavis. He has a special gift and I knew I wanted to work with him. Unlike me, Lonnie is black. In casting him, I was suddenly building a family around him that was so different than my own. I found myself no longer just making a film about my own loneliness and isolation. I was making a film now that had wider implications about race and class.”
Steuri added:
“My own struggle to be heard has expanded into a mediation on the struggle all those in our society who fall outside of the mainstream, those who are the most vulnerable and often unseen. In the making of that child’s story, I have found that we have made a story that is beyond me. The struggle of that boy in Switzerland and the struggle of these young characters in this film are united by the gifts of what it means to be human and united by the joy of finding beauty and kindness where we least expect it.”
Film Movement’s How I Learned to Fly opens exclusively in theaters on Friday, December 1. The cast is rounded out by Michele Selene Ang (13 Reasons Why) and Crystal Bush (Carole’s Christmas, Cocaine Sisters). And check out the film’s official movie poster below:
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